Can top with opener and spoon



Aug. 8, 1967 P. SAUNDERS 3,334,778

CAN TOP WITH OPENER AND SPOON Filed July 2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 1i fie/ 1.. jaunaers BY WW ATTORNEY Aug. 8, 1967 P. SAUNDERS 3,334,778

CAN TOP WITH OPENER AND SPOON Filed July 2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Li. INVENTOR fi /c L 5001104911;

BY WW1) ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,334,778 CAN TOP WITH OPENER AND SPOON Percy L. Saunders, RD. Box 183, Reidsville, N.C. 27320 Filed July 2, 1965, Ser. No. 469,062 10 Claims. (Cl. 220-54) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in can type containers, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a can with a top wall embodying an easily removable wall portion which, upon its removal, not only forms an access opening in the wall, but is also capable of being used as a spoon for removing the can contents through the access opening.

As such, the invention is particularly well adapted for cans containing liquid or semi-solid substances, the arrangement being such that the can may be quickly and easily opened without the use of a separate can opener and that the contents may be conveniently removed from the can by the spoon which comes into being as a result of the can opening procedure.

The can top with opener and spoon of the invention is simple in construction, durable for its intended purpose, and adaptable to convenient and economical manufacture.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a can top embodying the opener and spoon of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the spoon removed from the can top and bent into shape;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the spoon shown in FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the can top with the spoon removed and the top opening enlarged;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view showing a modified embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 77 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 88 in FIG- URE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 99 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of the can top of FIGURE 6 with the spoon removed;

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of the formed spoon of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 12 is an edge View of the spoon shown in FIGURE 11.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, more particularly to FIGS. 1-5 inclusive, the reference numeral 15 designates the top wall of a metallic can, having the usual circumferential seam 16 adjoining the top wall to the side wall (not shown), as will be readily understood.

The top wall 15 is provided with an endless, rupturable line of weakness 17 which encompasses or defines within the area of the top wall an elongated and longitudinally curved wall portion 18, configurated substantially as shown. The Wall portion 18 is capable of being manually removed or torn out of the wall 15 by rupturing of the line of weakness 17, such removal of the wall portion 18 leaving the wall 15 with an elongated and longitudinally curved opening 19, through which access may be had to the interior of the can, as will be apparent from FIGURE 3,334,778 Patented Aug. 8, 1967 5. The curvature of the opening 19 partly encompasses a segment 20 of the wall 15 which is outside of the line 17 between the ends of the opening 19, and since the mate rial of the wall 15 is bendable, the wall segment 20 may be deflected or bent outwardly from the top wall, thereby substantially enlarging the opening 19 for convenient removal of the contents of the can. It will be noted that in FIGURE 5 the deflected Wall segment 20 is shown by full lines, while the dotted line 20 indicates the initial position of the wall segment when it is coplanar with the wall 15.

The elongated wall portion 18 has an enlarged region 21 at one end thereof which constitutes the bowl of a spoon, while the other end of the elongated portion 18 constitutes the spoon handle indicated at 22. The bowl 21 of the spoon is preferably of a convexo-concave crosssection as is best shown in FIGURE 2, being so preformed during manufacture of the wall 15. The convexity of the bowl may be either outward or inward with respect to the can wall 15, as desired. After the portion 18 is torn out of the can wall 15, the end 22 of the portion 18 is bent across itself as at 23 and then upwardly as at 24 so as to make the spoon handle rigid and convenient to grasp. The formed spoon, removed from the can top, is designated generally by the numeral 25 in FIGURES 3 and 4.

A conventional finger-piece or pull tab 26 is fastened to the spoon handle, as by spot welding 27, the finger-piece serving to facilitate tearing the wall portion 18 out of the wall 15 along the line of weakness 17 during the can opening operation.

In the modified embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES6-12 inclusive, the top wall 30 of the can is provided with an endless, rupturable line of weakness 31 which defines an elongated, removable wall portion 32, including an enlarged, convexo-concave spoon bowl 33 and a handle 34, the concavity of the bowl extending into the handle in the form of a central, reinforcing channel 33'. The removable wall portion 32 extends substantially diametrically of the can wall 30 and, when removed, leaves the can wall with an access opening 35, as shown in FIGURE 10.

An elongated finger-piece or lever 36 is superposed on the wall 30 in substantially coextensive, longitudinal alignment with the wall portion 32, the lever 36 having a free end 37, but having its opposite end portion secured to the wall portion 32, as by spot welding 38. The end portion of the lever between the securing means 38 is formed with an arched, longitudinal stiffening rib 39 which merges into a transversely elongated, down-turned pressure exerting point 40, located longitudinally outwardly beyond the securing means 38 but overlying the adjacent end region of the wall portion 30.

When the can is to be opened by removal of the wall portion 32, the free end 37 of the lever 36 is raised upwardly by a finger as indicated by the arrow 41 in FIG- URE 7, while a thumb may be pressed downwardly against the secured portion of the lever adjacent the securing means 38, as for example, against the rib 39. The secured portion of the lever at the means 38 provides what may be referred to as an adverse fulcrum, whereby raising of the lever as at 41 causes the point 40 of the lever to exert downward pressure as at 42 on the underlying end of the wall portion 32, thus causing the wall portion 32 to initially tear away from that region of the can wall 30.

The fulcrum portion of the lever 36 at the securing means 38 is provided with a pair of laterally open slits 43 and when the opening operation has been initiated as above described, the lever 36 will bend in a transverse plane at the closed ends of the slits 43, so that by pulling on the lever, the opening operation may be completed by tearing the wall portion 32 from the wall 30 along the 3 entire line of weakness 31. This will leave the can wall 30 with the access opening 35 as shown in FIGURE 10, and the removed wall portion may then be used as a spoon, with the lever 36 serving as a spoon handle extension, as will be presently explained.

As already noted, during the opening operation the lever 36 becomes bent at the closed ends of the slits 43 and after removal of the wall portion 32 from the can wall 30, the lever may be bent further so that its point 40 lies below the handle 34 while the lever projects longitudinally outwardly beyond the handle and constitutes a handle extension as shown in FIGURES 11 and 2 which illustrate the formed spoon 44 in readiness for use.

As a practical matter it is preferred that the material of the lever 36 be of a somewhat thicker gauge and harder than the material of the can wall 30, so that the lever may effectively function as above described.

While in the foregoing there have been described and shown the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A can top with opener and spoon, comprising a metallic can top wall provided with an endless rupturable line of weakness defining within the area of said wall an elongated wall portion capable of being removed from the wall when said line of weakness is ruptured, the removal of said wall portion forming an access opening in said wall, said elongated wall portion having an enlarged region at one end thereof and upon its removal from said wall being capable of use as a spoon insertable through said opening, and a finger-piece connected to the other end of said elongated wall portion whereby the same may be removed from said wall by rupturing of said line of weakness.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said enlarged end region of said removable wall portion is of a convexo-concave cross-section.

3. A can top with opener and spoon, comprising a metallic can top wall provided with an endless rupturable line of weakness defining within the area of said wall an elongated and longitudinally curved wall portion capable of being removed from the wall when said line of weakness is ruptured, the removal of said wall portion forming an elongated and longitudinally curved access opening in said wall, the curvature of said opening partly encompassing a wall segment outside of said line of weakness between the ends of said opening, the material of said wall being bendable whereby said wall segment may be deflected from the plane of the wall to substantially enlarge said opening after removal of said wall portion, said elongated wall portion having an enlarged region at one end thereof and upon its removal from said wall being capable of use as a spoon insertable through said opening with the other end of said elongated wall portion serving as a spoon handle, and a finger-piece connected to said other end of said wall portion whereby the same may be removed from said wall by rupturing of said line of weakness.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said enlarged end region of said removable wall portion is of a convexo-concave cross-section.

5. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said other end of said elongated wall portion when removed from said wall is bent to provide an angulated spoon handle.

6. A can top with opener and spoon, comprising a metallic can top wall provided with an endless rupturable line of weakness defining within the area of said wall an elongated wall portion capable of being removed from the wall when said line of weakness is ruptured, the removal of said wall portion forming an elongated access opening in said wall, said elongated wall portion having an enlarged region at one end thereof and upon its removal from said wall being capable of use as a spoon insertable through said opening with the other end of said elongated wall portion serving as a spoon handle, an elongated finger-piece overlying said elongated Wall portion and secured to the latter at one end there, the secured end of said finger-piece providing an adverse fulcrum whereby downward pressure may be exerted on said other end of said elongated wall portion when the fingerpiece is raised to effect removal of said wall portion from said wall by rupturing of said line of weakness.

7. The device as defined in claim 6 wherein said enlarged end region of said removable wall portion is of a convexo-concave cross-section.

8. The device as defined in claim 6 wherein the end of said finger-piece beyond said fulcrum terminates in a pressure exerting tip'. superposed on the adjacent end of said elongated wall portion.

9. The device as defined in claim 6 wherein said finger-piece is bendable to a position wherein it projects longitudinally beyond said other end of said elongated wall portion and constitutes a spoon handle extension.

10. The device as defined in claim 10 wherein the fulcrum portion of said finger-piece is provided with slits to facilitate bending of the finger-piece to its spoon handle extension forming position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,208,625 9/1965 Trahacchi 220-47 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner,

G. T. HALL, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A CAN TOP WITH OPENER AND SPOON, COMPRISING A METALLIC CAN TOP WALL PROVIDED WITH AN ENDLESS RUPTURABLE LINE OF WEAKNESS DEFINING WITHIN THE AREA OF SAID WALL AN ELONGATED WALL PORTION CAPABLE OF BEING REMOVED FROM THE WALL WHEN SAID LINE OF WEAKNESS IS RUPTURED, THE REMOVAL OF SAID WALL PORTION FORMING AN ACCESS OPENING IN SAID WALL, SAID ELONGATED WALL PORTION HAVING AN ENLARGED REGION AT ONE END THEREOF AND UPON ITS REMOVAL FROM SAID WALL BEING CAPABLE OF USE AS A SPOON INSERTABLE THROUGH SAID OPENING, AND A FINGER-PIECE CONNECTED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID ELONGATED WALL PORTION WHEREBY THE SAME MAY BE REMOVED FROM SAID WALL BY RUPTURING OF SAID LINE OF WEAKNESS. 